This flavor packed Greek Pasta Salad is the perfect summer side dish. It’s easy to prep ahead, with hearty pasta, fresh veggies, and Greek flavors like creamy feta and salty Kalamata olives.
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An Easy Greek Pasta Salad
I LOVE Greek food. Especially on a warm day. I like to eat it outside, feel the sun on my face, the breeze in my hair, and imagine I’m on a terrace in Santorini. Just me? Hmmmm. Well a girl can dream. But, she can also try to recreate her international favorites at home! There’s nothing wrong with pretending.
One thing I love about Greek food is that the flavors are vibrant but also simple and easy to find. Like rich extra virgin olive oil, fresh lemon, and salty feta and kalamata olives. I love Greek spices so much, I always have my own homemade Greek seasoning blend on hand. It’s got garlic, oregano, basil, parsley, marjoram, thyme, and more!
This pasta salad has everything I love about Greek food, I’ll just have to keep imagining that view.
Recipe Ingredients
For this pasta salad, you’ll need pasta, Greek dressing, loads of veggies, and salty olives and cheese:
- Pasta: I like to use fusilli or rotini, but really any noodle style pasta will do!
- Olive Oil
- Red Wine Vinegar
- Lemon Juice
- Greek Seasoning: You can use store-bought or I have an easy recipe for Homemade Greek Seasoning!
- Tomatoes: I like to use cherry or grape tomatoes, but you can use whatever tomatoes you have. Just chop them into bite sized pieces if they are larger tomato.
- Red Onion: A shallow will also work!
- English Cucumber: I love an English cucumber because I feel it has a stronger cucumber flavor. However, any cucumber you like will do!
- Marinated Artichoke Hearts: Drain them and chop them into bite size pieces.
- Kalamata Olives: Make sure you buy the pitted olives.
- Crumbled Feta Cheese: If you aren’t a fan of feta cheese, you can use a similar creamy crumbled cheese. While it’s not traditional, goat cheese will work well in this recipe.
How to Make Greek Pasta Salad
This recipe is super easy and quick to whip up with just a few simple steps:
- Pasta: Cook the pasta according to package directions, in salted water for more flavor. Allow it to cool slightly and toss it with a little water or olive oil to prevent sticking.
- Dressing: Place the olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice and greek seasoning into a jar. Put the lid on and shake to mix the dressing ingredients together. Set aside.
- Combine: In a large bowl, toss together the cooked pasta, tomatoes, onion, cucumber, artichoke hearts, and olives.
- Dress: Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to coat. Taste to see if you need more greek seasoning or salt. Add additional seasonings if desired.
- Chill: Refrigerate your pasta salad until you’re ready to serve it – I personally think it tastes better if the pasta salad is left to soak up all the flavor for a few hours in the fridge.
- Top: Sprinkle the crumbled Feta cheese on top, before serving!
Tips for the Best Greek Pasta Salad
Pasta salad is so good when it’s done just right but it can also turn out – well, not so great. Follow these simple tips to ensure your pasta salad is fresh, bright, and perfect!
- Be careful not to overcook the pasta. You want your pasta to be al dente. Your pasta will continue to absorb liquid once it’s dressed, so if you cook it until it is done, it will be over done by the time you serve your pasta salad. Overdone pasta is the #1 culprit in a bad pasta salad, so be vigilant! Stop cooking your pasta just before it is done.
- I suggest English cucumbers in this pasta salad recipe because they are crisp and have far less seeds than other cucumber varieties. This makes them perfect for a pasta salad. They are less likely to get soggy and slimy and wont contribute as much moisture to the salad.
- If you don’t love feta cheese – what’s wrong with you?! Just kidding, kind of. But seriously, you can swap the feta cheese for any soft cheese, really. One option is to go with instead is a good crumbled goat cheese.
- If you can’t find or don’t love Kalamata olives, you can leave them out or swap them for other varieties. I also love Sicilian olives because they are dark and briny, too.
Serving Suggestions
Pasta salad is the perfect barbecue, potluck or cookout side dish! It’s got carbs, fresh veggies, and cheese. I love to serve pasta salad with hot dogs and hamburgers. Try these Greek Turkey Burgers for a perfect combo. Here are some more of my favorite dishes that would be great served alongside this pasta salad:
- Chicken Souvlaki: This Greek pasta salad also goes great with this juicy marinated Greek chicken. You can serve it just as it is, or wrapped up in a pita for some amazing Chicken Gyros with Homemade Tzatziki Sauce!
- Ham: This is a great dish for Easter too, we always love to serve it along with ham. I have a few ham recipes you may love: Air Fryer Ham and Crockpot Ham!
- Potluck: This is also a great potluck dish to bring to someone’s house party or work party! It goes great with things like Crockpot Pulled Pork and Grilled Chicken Kabobs too.
How to Store this Salad
You can store your leftover pasta salad in the fridge, in an airtight container, for up to 3 days. I actually think it tastes great on day two or three. The pasta has soaked in some that dressing and each bite is bursting with flavor.
Before enjoying the leftover pasta salad, you may want to toss it with a bit more of fresh dressing as the pasta will absorb some of the dressing as it sits.
Greek Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound uncooked pasta, I like to use fusilli or rotini
- ⅔ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon homemade greek seasoning, to taste
- 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
- 1 small red onion, chopped
- 1 large English cucumber, sliced
- ½ cup marinated artichoke hearts, diced
- 1 cup Kalamata olives, pitted
- ⅔ cup crumbled feta cheese
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Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions, in salted water for
more flavor. Allow to cool slightly and toss with a little water or olive oil to prevent sticking. - Place the olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice and Greek seasoning
into a jar. Put the lid on and shake to mix the dressing ingredients together. Set aside. - In a large bowl, toss together cooked pasta, tomatoes, onion,
cucumber, artichoke hearts, and olives. - Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to coat. Taste to see if you need more Greek seasoning or salt, add additional seasonings if desired.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve – I personally think it tastes better if the pasta salad is left to soak up all the flavor for a few hours in the fridge.
- Sprinkle crumbled Feta cheese on top, before serving! Store in the fridge, in an airtight container, for up to 3 days.
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